A Tainted Spider's Web
by Lord Fluffs-a-lot
Summary: Too late did the both of them realize that fate had already decided to make it's own move... And fate is always the most potent.
1. Prologue: The Nothings I Destroyed

Hey guys! This is my first fanfic...SO BE NICE PATHETIC HUMAN! (kukukuku) I've been reading fanfiction for, eh, counts on fingers ONE YEAR and I just decided to set up an account. Sad, ne? Oh yeah, this fanfic kinda twists the plot around a bit, but mostly only the part about Naraku's background. (I made his mom up.) There's not going to be much Japanese here...but...hn...never mind. There gonna be some OOC here too, so don't freak. No, seriously. Don't. Some people think that this couple is wrong, but if your gonna complain, DON'T READ THIS DAMN STORY! (And I'm gonna send Fluffy and Naraku after you...bwahaha.) Anything else? thinks for a minute Right, no flames (Go to hell flame-throwers!). I accept suggestions, so it's pretty much open-ended to what's gonna happen next. This is the short prologue that everyone hates to read but the chapters are gonna be longer, I promise.

Have fun all you ningens! wink

Disclaimer- huddles in a dark corner I WILL NEVER SPEAK, YOU DAMN LAWYERS! lawyer come over and start taking away her InuYasha stuff FINE! I sob don't sob own sob ANYTHING!

OoOOoO

The small huddled form in the corner seemed to shiver despite the cool breeze that gently played with his stained, torn black yukata (it's called a yukata for kids, right? Sorry, I'm stupid... bashes head against wall)

"Don't you love your own mother, child?" A cold voice snaked those painful word at his ears, wrapping them around his head.

_I'm sorry for the heart I broke_

The child didn't answer. He only drew his knees closer to his small chest in a desperate attempt to make himself smaller.

"Answer me!" the voice screamed, piercing the silence.

_But I don't regret the truth._

"...shut up." He took in a deep breath as the deadly silence once again fogged the air around him.

A tall, young woman stepped out of the darkness, her green eyes narrowed at the child. Her long black hair hung dejectedly around her thin frame and stopped at her hips. A simple red kimono completed her figure.

"Don't talk like that to your superiors, you bitch." she hissed, her pale hand raised threateningly in the air.

B-bump

His heart was beating fearfully against his ribcage, the only sound pulsing in his own hearing.

B-bump

"I said shut up." The child gave a small cry as the woman slapped his exposed backside leaving long trails of blood. Blood that dripped on the floor, perfectly synchronized with his beating heart.

Drip

B-bump

"How can you talk like that! After you killed him?" Kneeling down to where he sat, she grabbed his frail, slender arm and shook him violently until his teeth chattered.

"I-it w-w-wasn't m-my fault!"

Drip

B-bump

Her sharp eyes suddenly noticed something on his back that had escaped her sight before.

A large scar in the middle of his back.

Drip

B-bump

Shaped into a spider's from, it was now marred by his long bloody scratches. Disgusted, she threw the child halfway across the room.

"You liar! LIAR!" she shrieked, pointing an accusing finger.

He lifted his head to look at her for the first time.

Red met green.

Drip

B-bump

His eyes radiated a pure sadness that gazed at her, gazed at her soul. Something so lost and alone screaming to be set free. That look would haunt her till her death.

"You caused his death! He died because of YOU!" She ran over to where he was and, in blind fury, repeatedly kicked him in the stomach until the child was coughing up his own blood, the coppery taste and the pain making him cringe.

Drip

B-bump

"Somehow, you always manage to hurt the ones you love, don't you?" she hissed. His eyes widened in disbelief and horror.

Drip

B-bump

"I said...it...wasn't my... fault!" he gasped before doubling up in the wave of pain that smacked him in the gut over and over again.

"You don't deserve a mother. You didn't deserve my husband as your father! You MONSTER! I don't deserve to be your mother!"

Drip

B-bump

He could only stare at the wooden floor as his tears mixed with the blood that dripped out of the corners of his mouth. The puddle of blood lying at his knees glistened in the moonlight that was staring though a small window.

"Get away from me! Get out! I hate you!" She kicked at him towards the door until he painfully stood up and quietly left the room.

Drip

B-bump

_For your sake though,_

_I'm sorry_

_For the nothings I've destroyed._

Naraku already knew that.

OoOOoO

sighs Yes, the small child is young Naraku and the woman is his mom. I HATED writing this, but it's part of the story. His mom (her name is reveled later and so is his dad's) thinks that he killed her husband (who is a spider demon, of course) so she's all "die you evil kid!" Poor Naraku! sob I had to make his mom as evil as possible...'cuz. Anyway, you guy all know the whole blah-blah-blah review thingy so I not gonna repeat it so you all don't go crazy. Remember...NO FLAMES! hold up tetsusaiga threateningly I'll update soon...I'm already working on it! (Ok, I better shut up now 'cuz I like my head right where it is, thank you very much!)

Chow!

Haruka Michi


	2. Broken

Hey everybody! I am sooooooo sorry that I haven't updated for the longest time! Well...uh...my computer hates me, my parents are always making me do things I hate doing, and my brother is all "WHAT CHA DOING? HUH? HUH? HUH?" Plus, I've been practically brain dead for what to write in this chapter. It's been almost _two weeks_ since I've posted A Tainted Spider's Web up. Sheesh. I don't think that this chapter is quite as long as you expected...hn. I've been making a bunch of promises I haven't kept...hehehe. Oops. Ya know wut? I'm way too tired to say anything negative about the flames that I know are coming...(I'm writing this at 12:45 at night...so ya.)...so go ahead. Flame away. (Oh my god, I think I've gone mad...I haven't taken my pills yet (I kid, I kid))

OoOOoO

She knew she wouldn't be able to make it.

Not in a billion years.

Sharp jolts of pain pulsed with every beat of her heart, slowing her down more and more. She still kept running, fully aware of what was waiting for her on the other side.

"Wench, don't you know that running all by yourself without someone to protect you is very dangerous?"

That voice.

It remained glued to her mind.

"You useless ningen. You should have never come here. Can't you see you're only a burden to your friends and to yourself."

She couldn't quite place the specific details, but one thing that remained clearly outline in her head was the blood.

So much blood.

She knew that attempts to resist the truth was futile. There was nothing she could do anymore.

"Go away. Forever."

"NO! Shut up!" she screamed, responding to the voice that cackled evilly in her head. No matter how many times she denied it, she would always be accountable.

"You can't make me leave. I can't anyway. I already hate you. You shut up."

Letting out an outraged cry, she stumbled over her own feet, feeling the warm blood on the body.

Her blood.

"Look what's happened because of your stubbornness. You shouldn't have interfered."

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"I don't need to. You knew it was coming all along."

"NO I DIDN'T! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She drooped herself over her knees, her long, pale fingers tearing up the insides of her palm. (ouch)

_"Kagome, get out of the way!"_

_"No! I...won't...LEAVE YOU HERE!"_

Painful memories. There was no other way to describe the ache in her forehead.

"It was you that caused your p-"

"NO!"

_"InuYasha! Naraku has one of the jewel shards in his left hand!"_

If it hadn't been for those shards, maybe things would have turn out differently.

_Kagome's eyes widened when she realized what Naraku was planning all along. _

_"No! Stop attacking him! Sango! Miroku! Stop him before he turns into a-"_

_His eyes began to turn red._

_"-full-"_

_Fangs lengthened._

_"-DEMON!"_

_No answer._

_"Sango? Shippou? Miroku? Kira-"_

The huge bloody hole in her stomach was numb now, her vision blurring. Kneeling closer to the ground, she slowly closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.

_"DIE KAGOME!"_

_He had stabbed his clawed hand into her lower backside, his hand sticking out of her stomach._

_"Inu...Ya...sha?"_

OoO

He had thought that everything went perfectly well.

Until that damned girl got away.

Naraku couldn't sleep, his brows furrowed in thought. Although his castle was full of demon servants trained to do whatever whenever, it still felt lonely.

He liked it that way.

_'I don't believe that. How could I have not be able to suck in Kagome's soul through Kanna's mirror? How could one girl posses something so huge? It's almost disgusting...'_

He had been able to swipe the tetsusiga away from InuYasha and turn him into a bloodthirsty demon, but the attack on the girl was not expected.

_'Why would that insane mutt attack his wench? Unless...no, that can't be.'_

A few crazy thoughts flew through his head, but he quickly banished them.

_'I believe that I have someone I need to visit tomorrow...if she survived the stab.'_

OoOOoO

Eh, short chapter. I know what you all are thinking, "After all that time, she _still _didn't put up a long chapter." WAAAA! I am sooo bad! I feel guilty... broken promises, short chapter (it's cheesy too), and I didn't fill you in on all the details. Don't worry, the story explains itself as it continues. I'll update soon...(so...guilty...) Oh yeah, one more thing, Kagome doesn't die (duh), but any suggestions? I'm also gonna raise the rating (M of course!) cuz' there's gonna be, well, rated M stuff. So see ya there!

OoO

My best friend and I write screenplays for InuYasha and I was going to post them up. But while I'm here...I might as well put some up now. I'm Gina Kasumi (gk) and she's Tsuki no Yumi (ty). We're pretty random and, yeah, a bunch of OOC characters. Our favorite character is Sesshoumaru, so he's in practically every one of our screenplays. We abbreviate names, they're pretty self-explanatory. I'll be putting them up after every chapter cuz', well, the chapters are going to be, well, not so happy so this makes up for it.

sess- Gk, what are you doing?

gk- I'm watching iy do ballet on a pink tutu.

sess- #twitch# Yeah.

ty- #runs over to iy and kick him in the nuts# PEANUT BUTTER IS WAY BETTER THEN YOUR CRAPPY DANCING, YOU LOWLIFE!

sess- Yay. #bored eyes#

iy- #falls over with Shigure tears (don't tell me you don't read Fruits Basket!)# NEVAAAAAA!

ty- #turns to gk# Wanna go take over China now?

gk- Sure, but I'M driving the mecha this time!

ty- B-but...but...but...#pause# I'M OLDER THAN YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!

gk- (gasp) How dare you insult me!

sess- H-

ty- SHUT UP!

sess- But I didn't-

ty- #runs over to sess and kicks him in the nuts too# I (kick) SAID (kick) SHUT (kick) UP! (kick kick kick)

sess- Owowowowowowowowow!

gk- #bored eyes# Hey, where's naraku?

nar- I'm heeeeeeeere! #jumps in room gaily# LALALALALA! Guess what everyone?

gk- Don't say it.

nar- IIIIIIII'MMMM GAAAAAAAAAAY!

#silence, crickets chirping#

sess- Oh shit. #attempts to crawl away#

nar- #notices sess# Oh no you don't my sesshie-wesshie! Come back here! #runs after sess who has already jumped out of window in a desperate attempt to commit suicide#

ty- #yawns# BOOORING!

gk- Hey, someone took our mecha!

kag- #many miles away in mecha# BWAHAHAHA! I WILL NOW TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

OoO

So, should I keep putting screenplays after my chapters? EH? EH? EH? Ok, I think I should shut up now.

Ja ne!


	3. My Sweet Sacrifice

I...am...so...so...SOOOOORRRRRYYYYY!!! Omg, this fanfic has been officially haunting me in my sleep! (sorrysorrysorry!) Anyway, so here I am, listening to Linkin Park, now in the whole angst/goth mood. sigh Damn. This band rox!

OoOOoO

"InuYasha."

That name seemed so dry on her lips. Nope. It was just wrong.

Kagome stumbled over a wild thorn bush, ripping her already dirty clothes in about half a dozen places, re-opening her wound, and creating god-knows-how-many new ones. Not even knowing where the hell she was, it wasn't even as if she would care anytime soon.

She glanced down at her hands which were starting to glow as her inner miko powers started an attempt to heal.

"No, no. I won't let you...no!" Kagome squeezed her hands into a fist and slammed it into a tree. "I don't want to be healed! STOP IT! NONONONO!!"

Collasping onto the ground, her chest heaving, she finally slipped into a long-awaited faint.

OoOOoO

This was how Hakudoshi and Kagura found her 2 1/2 hours later, in a collapsed bloody heap, barely breathing.

"Is she alive?" Kagura said absentmindedly, kneeling down to the body, her nose wrinkling slightly. The young boy standing some distance behind her drew his lips into a straight line, his expression a cross between curious and disgusted.

"Let's go Kagura."

"Go? What, am I gonna carry the corpse?" The wrinkle on her nose increased a bit.

"No, I just brought you out here to sight see, you fool."

_That brat. I wonder what Naraku has planned for the girl..._

She reached out just as Kagome cracked open an eye, a scowl twisted on her lips.

Hakudoshi raised an eyebrow as they both tensed.

"You can't...take me to...him..." Weak energy crackled around her body, casting an eerie glow on the ground.

"No chance ki-"

"Please! You can't...I don't want...Please!" Her breathing came out in twisted sobs, her skin deathly pale. She grabbed Kagura's sleeve, and pulled herself up so that she was now level with her.

"You can't...InuYasha."

_She's not talking about Naraku. What the hell happened then? What did Naraku do?_

Hakudoshi was immediately beside the half insane girl and whispered something into her ear. Watching her expression on her face change from desperate to horrified, she couldn't help but wonder whether or not it was going to be permanent.

"Y-y-" Kagome huddled to herself, too weak to converse.

_Look where your mistake has lead me to_

_Another pit of hell_

_As if yours wasn't hell enough_

_My dear sweet sacrifice_

"Let's take her to Naraku now, Entei."

OoOOoO

InuYasha woke up just then, his eyes their normal golden color again. He was lying face-down in a puddle of blood, his haori (is that what its called?) in shreds around him.

"Kagome?"

He groaned in pain and rolled over so that he was facing the sky. The smell of her blood nearly made him vomit puke all over the place

InuYasha had known all along. He had watched, trapped in a black veil, as his object of obsession had screamed out in pain, as his claws sunk into her warm body, unable to move the whole time.

Red eyes.

Oh yes, it was Naraku. That damned hell spawn. That freak of nature. That-that...

"NAAAARRRRAAAAAKKKKUUUUU!!!!"

OoOOoO

Yes yes. I know, 3rd chappie and still NO kag/nar interaction! But the will meet in the next one! And right now, it's about 1:30 in the morning, and I'm sort of stressing out cuz I have a stupid piano recital at 10:00...and I haven't practiced! I suck at my song. Sucksucksucksucksuck!!! Curses! Wish me luck. grumbles and punches out Kikyou like a punch bag, trying to relive stress Oh, and just so you know, I'm a HUGE sess/kag fan, so I won't be putting any Sesshie in this at ALL so I won't be tempted to change the main paring. Tsh.


	4. Don't Bother to Help

**Hey! Gk-sama and Ty-baka (I kid I kid!) here with chappie 4 of A Tainted Spider's Web. Yup yup. My sister and I are, from now on, working on all of my fanfics together! So that means sometimes she'll post a chapter up, and sometimes me. Of course, me is bett- #ty throws coconut at gk's head and gk dies from concussion# **

OoOOoO

Naraku threw down the papers in disgust, scowling. Stupid prophesies. Stupid fortunetellers.

_"He is gone, but his shadow still dictates to us, and we, very often, obey."_

The stone floor of his room was literally hidden under mounds of scrolls, ink, paper, and more scrolls. The last thing he needed was another cause of stress, which was soon coming in a blue-eyed, 5'4, black-haired, bloody package.

That wench, Kagome, would not be happy.

_Hmpf. It's only for a couple of days, or until that foolish half-breed comes to retrieve his human woman, _he thought.

When he had started his master plan, he had thought that it was 100 foolproof, but InuYasha proved that even a fool could screw-up a foolproof plan. And considering how he reacted when he turned into a full demon...He scowled. Things didn't seem to be looking up.

"Naraku-sama," a voice slurred from the doorway of the large, dimly lit room that he was currently standing in. Kagura frowned and stepped closer to the disorganized slum of paper thrown hap-hazardly around the room, holding a cold bundle in her arms.

Naraku raised an obsidian brow as she unceremoniously dropped it on the hard stone floor, watching the bundle of cloth as it groaned and stirred.

"Good. Where is Hakudoushi?" he asked slowly, eyeing Kagome as she unconsciously made an effort to rise.

"Outside with those two damned elementals," she blandly replied. Kagura took a step back and bowed her head in mock obedience.

"Call the sisters to take 'it' to 'it's' room," Naraku sneered just as Kagome gained wakefulness. The wind demoness quickly hurried out of the room, thankful to have an excuse to leave.

"Nara...ku?" Kagome coughed as she slowly sat up.

"Girl, you-" he stopped in mid-sentence as he dodged a crackling energy whip directed at his torso, trying to slice his body in half. Naraku's scowl deepened as he sub-consciously wondered where her powers were deriving from, considering that she had a large, bloody spot on her shir- wait.

From what he recalled, there was a large, gaping _hole_ on her stomach.

_There isn't a hole. It isn't bleeding. Healing powers, maybe?_

Kagome mimicked his frown and brushed off her almost-completely-torn-off school uniform with a hand. She'd have to deal with the dried blood later.

"Naraku, you will die."

OoOOoO

Gina Kasumi sighed and ran long, thin fingers through her never-ending icy-blue hair as she watched Hakudoushi snore, cuddling up to Entei as a child would with his favorite stuffed animal. She was bored nearly to death. A quick glance to her left confirmed that the sister, Tsuki no Yume, was as tired of this as she was. Her eyes were lowered into a deadpan look before she yawned, in an almost cat-like manner, flashing her gleaming white fangs. Her silver hair was unprofessionally pulled into a low ponytail, but she still held the elegance that every elemental possessed.

Yup, Gina was a water elemental, depicted by the teardrop-shaped mark etched on her forehead. She was able to control the movements of water, or rather, she was the master of water herself. She _was_ the water, in a sense. Tsuki was a moon elemental, able to foretell events in the future, and contact spirits on other plains of dimensions, much like a guru or fortuneteller.

"Hey, you two," Kagura barked, appearing out of nowhere and snapping both out of their near-sleep state. Ty rolled off the low, wooden floor and onto the dirt of the inner courtyard, snorting as she nearly choked on a snore.

Gk snickered to herself and craned her neck to glare at Kagura. She wasn't exactly their best friend, and truth be told, they hated her guts.

"What is it that you want? If you disturbed us because of your stupid feather piece of crap, then forget it," Tsuki coughed out as she pulled herself to a standing position eyeing her now dirty kimono. She attempted to brush it off with her hand, but sighed in defeat when the brown substance refused to move. Gina rolled her eyes and commanded the water to take the dirt particles away from her sister. Tsuki grinned at her younger sister in return.

Kagura sneered at their compassion for each other before she said, "It's not about that. Naraku needs you both right now." She turned away from them, not having anything else to say.

"Sure, booger-brain!" Gina yelled. Smirking, she twisted her forefinger gracefully in the air, sucking all the moisture out of the wind-witch's throat and choking her. Kagura fell down in surprise, and both of the onna's laughed at the hilarity.

As Kagura slowly rose back up to her feet, strings of wind angrily began to whip a her feet, causing the two elementals to, once again, roll their eyes.

"Oh please," Gk spoke in boredom. "Do you really think that your pathetic control over the wind would have ANY affect on us, the Earth's children?"

"If so, think again," Ty continued. She turned to the slightly shorter woman, asking quietly, "Can I go, now?"

Gk smirked. "Yep."

"Great!" Tsuki squealed. Turning to their opponent, who was quite red in the face for being ignored, she said, "You, bitch, are gonna get it now!" The metallic moon on her forehead began to glow white as she called upon fortune and misfortune. A few moments later, a slight rain began to pick up, getting heavier by the second.

Kagura merely sneered at her. "Is that it?" she taunted. Tsuki held up a finger in a universal sign to wait a minute, and suddenly the sky lit blinding, white, several streaks o lightning bursting from the heavens and heading straight to Kagura. She screamed as she was engulfed in pain, both elementals laughing so hard that they had to bend over to clutch their gut as the muscles clenched.

"HAHAHAHAHA! That was (HAHAHA)...so funny (HAHAHAHA!)" Gina yelled between bouts of laughter, wiping tears from her eyes in joy.

Tsuki had rolled on the ground, laughing with just as much force as Kagura continued to be struck by lightning. "I...HAHAHAHAHAHA!...know! HAHAHA!"

Both persisted to laughed full-heartedly while their subject of torture screamed in pain (she couldn't die because she didn't have a heart...literally). A few minutes later, they both calmed down with an occasional giggle. "See imoutou-chan? I TOLD you that it was cool to control bad luck!"

Gina rolled her eyes jokingly, but a smile was still planted firmly on her bright red lips. "Yeah yeah. I know." Her eyes traveled over to Kagura, who was now blackened from the heat of the lightning, and asked. "Hey, Tsuki? Don't 'cha think that we should release that bitch now? Naraku wouldn't like it if we incapacitated his slave."

Ty tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I guess your right," she admitted. She clapped her hands together once, and the dark, rainy, lightning-filled scene turned sunny once again. It was actually kind of weird. "There. Allll better," she said happily.

Gina merely grinned as they made their way to Naraku's quarters, feeling satisfied now that they got their revenge.

OoOOoO

They stared at the paper door as a large rock ripped through it, smashing a small tree that laid just on the other side. Gina and Tsuki exchanged glances and they proceeded to hurriedly open the shoji door, only to be greeted by a very odd sight.

A black-haired woman was leaning over Naraku, her pale hands wrapped around his neck in order to suffocate the poor hanyou. Naraku made a few gagging sounds as he attempted to claw his way out of her deadly grasp.

"Should we intervene?" Gina whispered to Tsuki, her eyes never leaving Naraku's assailant.

"Nah. Narrie'll do just- Gyak!" Tsuki was cut off from her sentence as they were both pulled back by the collar of their kimonos. They fell unanimously on their bottoms and winced. Naraku towered over them, his crimson eyes narrowed.

Gina was the first to break the silence as she laughed and scratched the back of her head. "Uh, heheh, for a second there I thought that-"

"I let the girl 'play' with one of my puppets," he interrupted, inwardly cringing as he heard the distant sound of crunching bones.

"Ah."

"Speaking of the girl, I'm asking that you two stand the role as her bodyguards and make sure that she doesn't do anything stupid. InuYasha should come along soon enough. Now, leave and prepare a room for our guest."

They both glowered at him as they leapt to their feet. "Hey! We're elemental, not baby-sitters or servants!" Tsuki growled.

"Yeah," Gina nodded in response. "We _could_ be doing cool, immortal stuff, but we chose to be here of our own free will. Besides, it took enough energy to take care of y-"

Naraku glared. "Do not bring my past up in this. It is in your best interest to do as I ask."

They both paused for a moment, considering their options. Contacting each other through their mental link, they shrugged and simultaneously said, "Fine." They saluted with toothy grins, eyes glittering in amusement. Naraku resisted the urge to roll his eyes and turned away, trying in vain to think up of a way to save his room from utter destruction.

As soon as Naraku was out of hearing range, Gina pouted and peered into the room, watching in horror as the woman, whom they still didn't know the name of, kicked the puppet in the balls and continued her abusive raid.

"She looks like a miko to me," Gk said, her skin tingling at the feel of the energy in the air that was sizzling dangerously. Of course, neither Gk nor Ty being a youkai, it didn't affect them in the least.

"Uh-huh. Powerful, too. I wonder what her story is," Tsuki mused as she pulled on Gina's sleeve.

Gina frowned and wrinkled her eyebrows in concentration. "There's blood on her. That's never a good sign."

Both elementals looked at the woman, deadpanned, as she fell over from the exhaustion of beating up the puppet, which was now laying in a heap of several disjointed parts around the room. Red, sticky liquid began to escape from her reopened wounds, pooling on the floor.

"Eeeh. But easily fixable." Tsuki released her hold on her sister's sleeve, and walked over to the unconscious form of their charge. She kneeled over the woman, placing her hands on her skin through the fabric of her clothes. Not that it made much difference, bodily reactions could be manipulated through any barrier. Once again, her elemental symbol began to glow faintly, while pulsating a rapid tattoo against her forehead. Her brow creased slightly in concentration as her eyelids slipped close. Tsuki began to search around the wounds, searching for living cells to begin mitosis rapidly. With a very slight amount of shock, the elemental realized that the woman was internally bleeding, as well. Mentally sighing, she began her work, slipping into a state of hypnotism between the waking world and the unconscious one.

Gina looked around the bland room, thoughtfully, looking for anything that could help her onee with healing. "Pft. Naraku could use some work on his decorating skills," she stated wryly. A sudden inner throbbing gave her warning to a presence. "Nooooooooo! And while Tsuki's healing, too. She ALWAYS gets cranky when awakened so abruptly!" She heaved a dramatic sigh before reaching out with a tendril of her aura, snaking her way into Ty's conscience and telling her to wake up. In turn, Tsuki's eyes snapped open, a deep scowl on her lips, and her eyes still shining from the usage of her god-like powers.

"WHAT?!" she shouted, her eyes, slowly fading back down to their lavender hue.

Gina resisted the urge to twitch and/or beat up her infuriated onee (however she couldn't help but love her. Sigh). Maybe "cranky" was too light of word. "Gomen, onee-chan. Someone's coming...and it's a male according to the structure of his DNA."

Tsuki rolled her eyes. "Can't he sense us? Does he have a death wish, or is he just stupid?"

The blue-haired onna let half of her mouth slant upwards in a half-smile. "Both!" she chimed in, helpfully. Tsuki smiled tenderly at her companion's enthusiasm. She stood up, grinning in a cocky way. "Alright moutou-chan. Get us OUTTA HERE!"

Gina smiled brightly and snapped her fingers, the teardrop faintly glowing in a similar manner as her sister's had before. Microscopic amounts of water were sucked off all surfaces, drawn unstoppably to Gina's fingertips. Ty watched in fascination; despite the fact that she had seen her kami-given powers before, she couldn't help but love to look at her sister's water weaving art.

Long strings of water began to form from her sharp claws, whipping their way to a central point in the air. It was then that Gina began her dance, twisting her arms around in graceful arches and angles, at the same time sensually swishing her hips.

As a giant dog head began to form from the now madly shifting water, Gina used her control to stretch the hydrogen and oxygen molecules contained within her element. From the head grew a gargantuan torso, a tail, lethal claws upon an awesome paw. The beautiful water inu began to ebb and flow like the element it was made of.

It bowed it's head to it's master, silently beckoning her to get on. "Yay! Ichiro-chan!" She trotted over to her dog, hugging it's head while it rumbled affectionately. Letting go of it's giant maw and jumping on, she looked over to her sis, who in turn hopped on with their patient in tow.

"Gi'yup, Ichiro-kun!"

And out the door they went.

A low-ranking demon looked on in shock and horror. A giant dog had just passed him. With three women on it's back. The servant rubbed his eyes, opening them once again, and upon seeing the giant inu still running down the desolate hallway, promptly fainted.

OoOOoO

Kagome groaned as she slowly opened her eyes because of the pain.

...Wait.

The pain? Where was the pain? Kagome sat up quickly, patting her hands over her torso to try to locate her wounds. She gazed around in confusion...

...and screamed bloody murder.

The two women who were standing directly over her screamed just as loud and stumbled back clumsily. After several minutes off frightened screaming on either side, they just stopped and stared at each other.

One of the women, the one with bluish hair, smiled brightly and said, "Hiya, girly! My name's Gina Kasumi, but you can call me Gina or Gk!" She gestured with wild, flailing arms to her companion, saying, "And this is-"

At this point, the silver-haired maiden pushed Gk out of the way and huffed. "Hey! Don't introduce me! Goosh!" She placed her hand on her hips while Gina muttered apologies. "'Kay! I'm Tsuki no Yume, or Tsuki or Ty! And I like your shiny hair!"

Kagome touched her hair in reflex and thanked them quietly, embarrassed at being complimented. "Ano, I'm Kagome Higurashi, and-"

"Wait!" Gk interrupted. "Kagome? Your name is Kagome?"

Kagome nodded, confused.

Tsuki and Gina exchanged meaningful looks.

Kagome frowned her brow in confusion, but refrained from asking why, having a feeling that they wouldn't answer. Instead, she opted to ask, "Who are you two? Why are you here?"

"Heehee. Sorry. We're here to protect you and to teach you some really cool crap! But, don't be afraid us, 'cause we aren't scary."

Kagome nodded. "So now I know _who_ you are, but I still don't know _what_ you are. Not human, I'm guessing, if your markings indicate anything." She raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the sudden looks of horror passing on their faces.

"Uh, uh, uh, WE'RE, uh, ah...shoot." Gina turned to Tsuki. "I got nothin'."

"Ditto. Guess the truth will have to suffice for now."

"Buh-buh-but! Every time we do, we scare them off!"

Tsuku connected mentally. _**'But she's not just ANY girl...'**_

'_**Mm. I know.'**_

Tsuki's eyes bore into her own. _**'Then trust me.'**_

'_**I cannot help but do so.'**_

Tsuki smiled slowly. "I know, immoutou."

OoOOoO

**Well, actually, I have more to type on this chapter, but at about the Kagura torture scene, I was starting to get this cramp in my wrist. I was all "must...keep...writing...pain...PAIN!"Oh well. At least it's longer...oO Tnx onee-chan! O- Lol!**


	5. Of Sneezing and Abduction

**Ok, so, finally! I feel so relived! I fiiiinnniiissshhhheeeddd!!!!!!! Btw, any out there that go to Apex High school? If you do, then I'm so sorry for missing the Japanese club meetings!! Long story, but it just feels wierd being there without my best friend/sister, tsuki no yume-chan, but don't freak. I'm still the biggest InuYasha fan evah! **

**This is kind of random, but this crazy thing happened to me this morning. Some of my friends persuaded me to go to Bojangles before the fist bell rang so I went. While walking there, I saw this gi-normous spider and I screamed, taking off. Unfortunately for me, there were a bunch of low hanging branches that hung over the sidewalk, and I literally bounced off of this huge one, falling on my back in front of a lot of people. Owie. Up till now, I seriously thought that this kind of stuff only happened in cartoon, but I guess I was wrong. Dreams DO come true! (ah, i'm still sore!) **

OoOOoO

_Maybe the idea of keeping that human wasn't such a god idea after all,_ Naraku thought grimly, looking around at his once-dark castle.

A walk outside seemed like such a good idea, but now...not so much.

Daisies, pansies, lilies, sunflowers, bluebirds, and every other colorful thing possible decorated the dirt with a lavish sense that screamed "happy-go-lucky". No more evilness, no more darkness.

"Hakudoushi! Come heeeeerrrrreeee!!" a high voice sang from across the courtyard, sounding suspiciously like Kagome.

A short, white-haired boy screamed from behind him and tackled his legs from behind him and tackled his legs from behind, nearly knocking him over.

"Don't let them find me! Don't let them find me!" Hakudoushi wailed pathetically, sporting braids and pink/purple bows.

"Get of off me, kid," Naraku snarled viciously, pushing him away.

"There he is!" Gina Kasumi, Tsuki no Yume, and Kagome jumped down from a nearby castle roof, a few feet away from the terrified boy and the pissed hanyou.

"What is the meaning of this?" Naraku demanded, glaring at a gleeful miko and her guards.

"Nuuuuthin'!" Kagome chirped, unusually happy.

"Just give us Hakudoushi and we'll leave you alone," Tsuki said.

"At least for now," Gina added thoughtfully.

"And why should I just hand over Hakudoushi to a dumb miko who has completely _destroyed_ my castle?" he snorted angrily. Haku, a little more fearless now that he had Naraku's backup, crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

Kagome blinked innocently and looked around at all the flowers.

"Nu-uh! I did you a favor! Besides, all the smelly stuff here stinks like Miroku on stool-softener!"

"Stool-softener?"

"Yeah, it's like, uh, never mind. He just stinks. Kagome Higurashi has now worked her magic without Fabreeze! Amazing, people!" The three girls just started cheering for no apparent reason, hooting and jumping up and down.

Naraku glared at the strange miko, confused. Hadn't he shown her how uncaring he was? So why was she going crazy and acting as if she had known him all her life? Didn't she know that he had the capacity to kill her at any given moment?

"Kagome, Gina, Tsuki, cease this nonsense now!" he barked.

The three stopped and glanced at Naraku before Tsuki made a slight hand gesture and motioned Gina to her. After whispering something in her ear, a wide smile strethed aross her face. Gina turned around and faced Kagome, whispering the same thing to her.

The sisters turned around so that their backs were facing Naraku and, after a few seconds produced a super bright light

Naraku narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

After a few seconds, they turned around, a huge, dopey grin pasted on their faces, Gina's hands behind her back. Kagome, knowing what was going on, laughed silently to herself.

"Naaarrriiieee!! We have a present for yoooouuuu!!" Gina sang happily, showing to everyone what she held behind her.

It was a cute bunny, a calico with blue eyes. It twitched it's nose and blinked in a way that would have melted the hardest hearts.

Unfortunately for Naraku, he sneezed too.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Tsuki, Gina and Kagome were cracking up as Naraku fell subject to a continued sneezing fit. The bunny blinked a few more times and sneezed too, both man and beast wishing that the other would die.

"I (achoo!!) told you th- (achoo!) that I hate (achoo!!) ra- (achoo!) rabbits! ACHOOOO!!" At that last sneeze, he turned around to try to cover up the snot that was threatening to run down his nose. Sadly for Haku, when he did sneeze, he got a layer of snot on his face.

Screaming, the poor boy fell back and ran away, wiping the cooties off.

Kagome nearly choked on her laughter, disbelieving that InuYasha's arch nemesis, the most evil hanyou ever to grace Japan, was allergic to bunnies. The sisters grinned at each other and gave each other high fives as Gina let the angry bunny go.

"Just ge- (achoo!!) get out of (achoo!!) my w- (achoo!!) way!!" Naraku shouted, turning away and stalking off to the main building, the sneezing getting fainter and fainter.

Naraku had yet to realize that the elementals were slyer than they looked.

OoOOoO

The sun glistened off of the pond in an almost godly way, casting glimmering rays of sunlight onto everything that was willing to reflect it back. The only sound that interrupted this scene was the chirping of birds and...a fart.

"You know, it sure looks funny when you look at the world upside down!" a short, pink-haired girl giggled, hanging off of a tree limb with her legs. Her penetrating purple eyes opened wider as she keenly observed everything there was to see. But the cutest part of her were two fluffy dog ears poking out of her pink hair, twitching at every sound.

"Hikari, get down before you fall," a smooth, deep voice snorted from a young man sitting under the limbs of the tree. His eyes were closed, as if in concentration, a slight frown gracing his lips. Silvery-white hair cascaded down his back, slowly fading of into light pink as it lengthened. His plain, white yukata also faded off into a pattern akin to Sesshoumaru's red flowers, but smaller.

Hikaru snorted and dropped to the ground, rolling on the soft grass.

"Awww, Katsuke! You're no fun!" she laughed, suddenly directing her attention to a blue butterfly that had landed on her nose.

Katsuke's dark purple eyes cracked open in an almost dream-like state.

Two days ago, word had gotten out that InuYasha had finally lost it and had killed all his friends. Katsuke wouldn't have cared at all, had he not been attached and related to the young hanyou. InuYasha's father, Inu no Taisho, was his mother's brother, making them cousins.

Hikari, his little sister, giggled in a fit of hysteria and started rolling on the ground, clutching her stomach for no apparent reason. After she finally ran out of oxygen, she sighed happily and stretched out on the ground next to her older brother.

"Is Yashie 'kay?" she asked quietly after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I really don't know," Katsuke replied truthfully. "That's why we're going to find out." Even thought InuYasha was a bit stubborn, and hot-headed, he was actually very loyal to his friends. This couldn't have been his cousin.

"A family reunion? Wow!" Hikari squealed, rolling in the grass.

"We shall see," he murmured, closing his eyes again.

Nearby, a dark, cloaked figure silently stepped behind a large tree, praying that the aura-concealment spell would hold. She chuckled to herself, knowing of the young demon's plans.

_Perfect..._

Making sure that Katsuke was asleep, she fixed her gaze on his young pink-haired sister, Hikaru, who was humming a random tune and picking daisies.

"Hello, girl," she said softly, reveling herself. Hikaru looked up, startled, and then grinned.

"Hello lady! Would you like to pick flowers with me?" she chirped happily, gesturing to the flower bed. The woman laughed again to herself and shook her head.

"No, but I was wondering if you would like to pick flowers with me," she said. Frowning now, Hikaru peered desperately up into the dark hood, trying to glimpse at her face. A dark shadow covered the upper half of her face, only revealing perfect, blood-red lips that curled up in a deadly smile and flawless skin.

"I, uh, don't know. Suke said not to go with strangers." The woman let out a audible gasp as Katsuke shifted in his sleep, turning the other way.

Relived, she snapped her head back towards the girl who stared up at her with huge, nervous eyes.

"You don't have a choice." Drawing a small bottle out of her black sleeve, she threw it at the demon girl. As soon as the vile broke open, a black smoke nauseated Hikaru into unconsciousness.

Picking up her small, limp body, she quickly disappeared into the thick forest, smirking at her accomplishment.

2 seconds later, Katsuke's eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet, a hand on his katana.

"HIKARU!" he barked into the emptiness, growling savagely. His delicate nose picked up the remains of a subduing spell over the browned daisy bed.

Cursing, Katsuke glared into the forest where a faint scream was heard through the blackness.

"HIKARU!! HANG ON!" Wasting no time, he ran at demonic speed toward the scream, vowing death to whoever dared to lay a finger on his closest living relative.

OoOOoO

Naraku, just getting over his sneezing fit, now fell into a more serious sickness: his ego had burst.

His most hated enemy's woman had just seen his one and only allergy and had laughed about it. But what confused him the most was that he cared so much about it.

_That stupid hanyou. Maybe I should leave an aura trail or something..._

"Hello, Naraku."

He was immediately put on alert and growled, only to face a hooded figure carrying a pink haired girl who looked nauseated and weak.

The woman dropped the girl on the ground, evoking a soft cry from the girl, who, Naraku realized, was a demon.

"What is it that you want, woman?" he barked, pissed off at her smirk.

"Nothing, my dearest," she slurred, dodging a blow from a punch that would've killed a human. "I'm just here to drop off a...present." She nodded towards the girl.

"Get out of my sight. I don't want it," he snarled, throwing a dagger which she also easily dodged.

"My pleasure," she laughed, vanishing into the air like a mirage. Naraku narrowed his eyes at the girl, suddenly suspicious as to the woman's intention.

He was about to find out as a low, deadly growl echoed from the entranceway.

"DIE!!"

OoOOoO

"Tsuki, what was that?" Kagome blurted, sensing a heated, tingling aura coming from Naraku's room.

Gina looked up from the kimono she was repairing and frowned.

"Sister, there's someone else with Naraku!" she said fiercely, standing up. Her sister, equally worried, ran out the door, followed by her younger sister.

As the heat increased, Kagoe shivered and peered out the door, her heart-rate going up. As the elementals entered the room, a loud explosion occured, followed by a scream and a few shouts of pain.

_Why are they so protective of Naraku?_ Kagome wondered, cringing as the scream got louder, followed by a heart-breaking sob for help.

Unable to take it anymore, Kagome, skidded out the door raced out towards the main building past the courtyard, her thoughts blurring.

_What the hell is going on?!_

OoOOoO

**Woo!! Ok, so it's not as long as the other chapter, but I did put a lot of thought into this. And don't worry, the original Inu gang will be in later chapters. Oh, and about the new character, Katsuke, I have plans for him!! Bwahahaha... (coughlovecough) ...** **Heh, cliffy!! I actually didn't get this one edited, but...eh...sorry Daciana and Tsuki no yume-chan! grins sheepishly **


	6. I was always there

Cookies to Sir Walter Raleigh, cuz he took the time to write the poem mentioned in this chapter

**Cookies to Sir Walter Raleigh, cuz he took the time to write the poem mentioned in this chapter!**

OoOOoO

Sango and Miroku sat silently near the rock that had saved their lives, their backs resting on it on opposite sides. They were mostly still and quiet, with the exceptional glance at Shippou who was absentmindedly stroking the untransformed neko.

For a long time, they had stayed that way, not moving while the situation sunk in. Even Kirara was oddly quiet, resting on her side.

"Miroku," Sango said suddenly, her voice cracked from disuse. Miroku closed his eyes in deep concentration.

"Yes?"

"Kagome. Is she still alive?" she whispered, as if afraid that he would answer. At the sound of her name, Shippou glanced at them instinctively.

Miroku seemed peaceful, face smooth and calm. But as soon as his eyes snapped open at her question, the weariness and stress was evident in his drawn face.

"No. No, Kagome is NOT dead," he stated firmly. Shippou raised his hand to his face, but let it drop on it's own.

"No, she's not…" Sango repeated, almost dreamily. Suddenly, she whipped her head upright and jumped to her feet. The rest of them looked at her curiously.

"Sango, you still have extensive injuries that need to be treated," Miroku said gravely, wincing as a sharp pain in his ribs protested angrily. "If we want to save Kagome and...InuYasha," he hesitated on that name, "we must be well ourselves." Kirara mewed in agreement.

"No. NO! Don't you get it?!" Sango sputtered in frustration. "We need to go NOW! We all saw her injuries! Don't you get it? Kagome could be dying out somewhere in the woods, waiting for us, while you sit there and complain about a few bruises?" Miroku hung his head and Shippou's breath hitched.

Storming, the pissed demon slayer scowled angrily at them, her fists clenched into hard balls at her side.

"Kagome needs us. She has never, EVER left us when we needed her the most. This is no exception. Why aren't you doing anything?" she snarled, her voice rising.

"Because InuYasha's on his way."

Sango stared at him in confusion.

Shippou held Kirara tightly to his chest in a hug, his eyes widened.

"Sango, for a moment, think of what InuYasha might be feeling right now. Put yourself in his feet. The agony that he's feeling right now. The torture that he's putting himself through." Silence reigned over the group for a second as Sango slumped back on the ground in defeat.

"No no no no no…" she murmured, her hand on her mouth. Shippou chose that moment to start wailing, burying his face in Kirara's fur.

"I'm sorry everyone," Miroku hissed between clenched teeth, his jaw flexing under the strain of keeping under control. "There's just nothing we can do for them anymore. All we can do for now is to wait for them to come home."

"Come home," Sango mumbled under her breath, her lips moving in a silent prayer.

OoOOoO

_Go soul, the body's guest_

_Upon a thankless errand;_

_Fear not to touch the best;_

_The truth shall be thy warrant;_

_Go, since I needs must die,_

_And give the world the lie._

OoOOoO

He wasn't alive.

Dead and still running away.

A single, pulsing, rhythmic name coursing through his head.

_If I run fast enough, it'll all go away._

_If I am strong enough, the pain won't bother me anymore._

_She was never there._

_Kagome._

_My Kagome._

InuYasha stumbled over his feet, his unnaturally fast sprint flinging him to the ground with more force than necessary. As in usual InuYasha form, he cussed into the dirt, a scowl twisting his face.

Rolling over on his back, he made no effort to stand up anymore, content to stare at the sky with a dark expression.

Everything in his mind was twisted. Not just the thought of hurting the one person who had cared enough to stay with him. Not just the fact that he was probably miles away from where she was probably kept with no remaining thought of going back.

It was just that she would never look at him the same way again.

Those carefree days in the past where being happy was so deliciously easy were gone, only a burning memory. If she was not already dead, he had just proved to the world just how dangerous he could be.

Proved to her that she didn't need him.

InuYasha shut his eyes, trying to drown out thoughts of her smiling face out with other thoughts. What other thoughts? There was nothing but her.

Frustrated, her yanked himself to a sitting position.

"DAMMIT ALL!!" he shouted to the air and jamming a fist into the nearest tree. It toppled over easily, as if someone had knocked over a playing card.

Racing around madly, he started punching anything solid: trees, boulders, solitary house walls in the middle of the forest. Finally, out of breath, InuYasha collapsed on the ground and inhaled slowly, trying again to just concentrate on the deep cuts on his knuckles and the pain.

Pain.

Was she still in pain?

That was when he noticed the stream.

It was beautiful in the early morning sunlight, the light glinting happily off of its ripples. A gurgling, bubbly sound drifted softly into the air, a harmonic tune to go along with the birds that chirped gaily. Willows dragged their ever-tired branches into the water, dipping their leaves gracefully into the coolness as the slow current gently pushed them along.

Kagome was with him last time he was here.

InuYasha could almost hear Shippou's laughter as he closed his eyes again.

"_Yasha?" Kagome blushed and looked at her reflection in the water. InuYasha snorted and looked away, pretending not to be interested, but Kagome knew better. Sighing, she continued._

"_You know that the well will seal as soon as the jewel is completed, right?" she whispered, fingering the small bottle hanging around her neck. InuYasha glanced at her sideways with his suddenly serious golden eyes._

"_Like I'd want you here forever," he sneered jokingly. He turned towards her as his eyes straightened out. "Forever. With me forever." He smirked as he heard the sudden pause in her breathing. After a moment, she let out her breath in a loud 'woosh'._

"_Haha, you're funny InuYasha when you're serious," she said nervously, not really liking the tense situation. Her blush deepened as he caught her hand in his. She yelped softly and stared up at him with baby blue eyes that shone innocence._

"_Kagome, I promised to myself that I would protect you. That you would never be alone," he growled, his shoulders tense, "forever."_

"_Forever?"_

"_Forever."_

_Kagome laughed melodically and dropped his hand, looking at her reflection again._

"_I promise."_

That time seemed so long ago. Like forever wasn't long enough.

InuYasha blinked rapidly, not realizing that tears were threatening to spill over. He quickly wiped them away and sighed. It was a promise that was starting to fade in the distance, a mere child hood memory.

A promise.

An oath to last forever.

"And I still intend to keep that!" he growled out loudly to no one in particular, jumping to his feet. Even if she had forgotten that promise, it would linger in the air forever, unanswered and haunting.

He wasn't prepared to let her go yet.

"Wait for me," he murmured under his breath, before heading back to the direction that he had come from.

OoOOoO

**If You Forget Me ****by Pablo Neruda**

I want you to know  
one thing.

You know how this is:  
if I look  
at the crystal moon, at the red branch  
of the slow autumn at my window,  
if I touch  
near the fire  
the impalpable ash  
or the wrinkled body of the log,  
everything carries me to you,  
as if everything that exists,  
aromas, light, metals,  
were little boats  
that sail  
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,  
if little by little you stop loving me  
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly  
you forget me  
do not look for me,  
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,  
the wind of banners  
that passes through my life,  
and you decide  
to leave me at the shore  
of the heart where I have roots,  
remember  
that on that day,  
at that hour,  
I shall lift my arms  
and my roots will set off  
to seek another land.

But  
if each day,  
each hour,  
you feel that you are destined for me  
with implacable sweetness,  
if each day a flower  
climbs up to your lips to seek me,  
ah my love, ah my own,  
in me all that fire is repeated,  
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,  
my love feeds on your love, beloved,  
and as long as you live it will be in your arms  
without leaving mine

OoOOoO

**Fhew. I've been on a poetry hunt that's lasted for quite some time now. I hope that I didn't overdo it though.**


	7. Revealed

"Katsukeeee!" Hikari screamed, frantic. She tried to claw herself out, but her fragile body was held in place by bands of aura, which pulsed and glowed.

Tsuki had her older brother in a headlock. Katsuke roared and snarled at the slim arm that held him in place, but Tsuki was firm. Finally, when the elemental got tired of his squirming, she lightly shocked him with electricity and, with a cry of pain, he fell unconscious. Another shriek clawed the air.

Gina, on the other end, stood protectively in front of Naraku, and fan in each hand consisting of razor-sharp edges and poison-coated metal. She tensed, teeth bared when Naraku reached for his uchigatana, kept at his waist for fast-pulling. He scowled, took one look at the unconscious demon at his floor, and dropped his hand.

"What the hell is going on?" he snapped, sounding more annoyed than anything else.

Tsuki looked up at him with epic calmness. "He was here for his kidnapped sister."

"The one that the woman dropped off?"

"What woman?" Gina mumbled, angry about not understanding. She studied her sister's blank eyes, clouded whenever she reached into someone's mind.

Hikari was crying now, the aura biting into her skin.

The fabric over the doorframe was ripped down and Naraku grabbed onto his sword again. Gina instantly fell into her rightful place in front of him.

Kagome stumbled into the room, doing a not-so-graceful face-plant onto the wooded floor. She quickly recovered and was on her feet again, chakara glowing at hand. Naraku, with a smirk, inwardly praised her speed.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Gina grinned. "Someone dropped that girl here and a very pissed brother followed."

Kagome frowned, confused. "Someone?" Her attention was caught on the squirming girl in the corner, whimpering now. "Hikari!" She ran over to the little demon girl and, with a touch of her finger, the aura disappeared. The girl fell into her arms. Naraku's eyebrows rose; that was an unbreakable seal.

"You know each other?"

Hikari buried her head in Kagome's shoulder as she cradled her gently. "She's ... Sesshoumaru's cousin," she sighed, belatedly, not wanting to say _his_ name. "I saved her life, once, from a sea demon. I'll try to explain the situation to Katsuke."

"She doesn't have a very good protector," Gina snorted.

Tsuki blinked rapidly, coming out of her trance. "That woman."

Her sister gingerly stepped over the sprawled-out body on the floor and dragged it out of the way. Naraku sat down on a mat, his face guarded as Kagome rocked Hikari.

"That woman," she repeated, turning to Naraku, "knows you very well."

"What, like a stalker?" Kagome called out. Gina laughed before she caught herself.

Naraku scowled again. "And?"

Tsuki bit her lip and looked down at Katsuke, who was just struggling to get up. He moaned and fell down again. Maybe it wasn't such a light shock after all.

"I can't tell you till the time is right."

"Dammit all with these stupid prophesies!"

Gina stood over the waking demon. "Tsuki's right. Don't ask for anything until you know you're ready for the information. Her sayings may be painful, but their right."

"I am not a very patient person," Naraku snarled. "Tell me."

"Naraku..."

"Tell me!"

"But-"

"I've been to hell and back. I think that I can take a bit of spoken word."

Hikari, her tears stopped, looked up in child-like interest at the direction the conversation had turned. Kagome kept rocking her, her mind fogged. Of course, she would always keep that hatred for her sworn enemy, but this was different. Even before Tsuki reluctantly opened her mouth, horror was destined to hit home. A small surge of pity flowed though her.

"You haven't been though hell yet, Naraku. The worst part isn't over."

"What part?" he whispered now.

Gina winced and shook her head fervently at her sister.

"The part where your mother makes a deal with Izanami, becomes an undead vampire and tries to kill you."

OoO~OoO

"No no! I haven't seen anything!" the man wailed. InuYasha's golden eyes narrowed.

"Human, I know that Naraku's brat and his pony passed by here because _I JUST FUCKIN' SAW THEM._" His clawed grip on the poor man tightened until his eyes bulged and his face turned purple.

"S-s-tooop! Caaa...n't breee..th!"

"WHICH WAY DID THEY GO?!"

The man lifted a shaking finger to the north, his gasping turned shallow. With a sickening eggshell-crunch, the man's neck was broken and InuYasha dumped his limp body on the ground, kicking it out of the way like it was something gross.

"North," he muttered to himself. InuYasha was no longer the healthy demon he was a few days ago. His face was streaked with dirt, his whole frame a little thinner. His clothes were torn and muddy. Red splashed his golden eyes.

"InuYasha?"

He whirled in the figure which had uttered the name he hated the most. With a quick twist, the person was trapped between his claws and a tree.

Miroku stared at him in fear before recognition settled in. The two looked at each other, not really sure what to do.

"Hello, comrade." He actually smiled now, even though InuYasha still had a grip on his throat.

_How easily broken._

InuYasha released and took a step back, inspecting his best friend. It had been a few days since they had last seen each other, not since...

...the incident.

"Thank Kami was found you! Sango was starting to stare at those ramen packages Kagome left behind."

InuYasha took one long, bitter, sorrowful look at Miroku before stalking off. Of course, his human friend tagged along, panting at his quick pace.

"Hey, do you want to talk?"

"Shut up and leave me alone."

Miroku half-heartedly grinned. "Come on, for old time's sa-"

"Shut UP already!" InuYasha screamed. Miruku fell back, betrayal twisting his face. "That's what's wrong with you frickin' humans! You don't know when to SHUT UP!"

"InuYasha-"

"NO!"

Miroku was once again trapped under his hand, choking slowly. His face quickly turned purple.

A whisper echoed silently in his head, a laugh. Many laughs.

_...animal..._

_...freak..._

_...uncontrollable..._

"_RUN FROM THE MONSTER!"  
_

"AAAAAAUUGGHH!!!"

"_Too late, you demon."_

InuYasha ran away from the limp body before his conscience could drown his again.

OoO~OoO

**NUUU! Is Miroku dead? DON'T ASK STUPID QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU READ THE OTHER CHAPTERS!**

**....**

**....**

**....**

***Looks over chapter again* GAH! It's short again! ~.~ Never mind. I'll write a longer one, or my name isn't Sweetie Pie Bob! Um... wait... Anyway, I'm sure that you're al drowning in all the info I just crammed into your minds; this was an "informational chapter"! ^-^ Luvs all who reviews! *throws cyber-cookies to reviewers and hits one in head* Gomen, peeps! 3**


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